Italy's culture minister demands answers over Pride event at Palazzo Poli, claiming it is "inconsistent" with role of state museum.A Pride-themed evening organised by a state cultural body at one of Rome's most iconic landmarks has ignited a political controversy, drawing in Italy's right-wing culture minister and a prominent Catholic pressure group.The Istituto Centrale per la Grafica - a public institute under the Italian ministry of culture, housed at Palazzo Poli overlooking the Trevi Fountain - is holding an event entitled Grafica Pride on Friday 19 June.   The initiative - which takes place on the eve of Roma Pride and is aimed predominantly at people aged under 30 - is dedicated to themes of inclusion, gender identity and LGBTQ+ culture and has been promoted with an image featuring the Trevi Fountain illuminated with rainbow colours. The event includes the presentation of a book titled Musei, genere e queerness (Museums, Gender and Queerness), a talk entitled L'amore che non osa dire il suo nome (The Love That Dare Not Speak Its Name) featuring two queer performers, and a DJ set. Tickets cost €5 for visitors aged under 30 and €10 for those over 30. The Istituto Centrale per la Grafica is a prestigious state-run museum and research centre dedicated to preserving, protecting and promoting graphic art including historic prints and drawings. Criticism The conservative Catholic organisation Pro Vita & Famiglia, through its spokesman Jacopo Coghe, condemned the event as an unacceptable use of public funds, stating that such an initiative was what one might expect from a far-left government, not the current centre-right administration. Pro Vita raised pointed questions about the institute's finances: according to the group, the Istituto Centrale per la Grafica receives around €800,000 in direct culture ministry funding, while its own ticketing income for the entire year amounts to just €2,000. Around €88,000 is earmarked for cultural events such as exhibitions and conferences. Pro Vita argued that Italian taxpayers were therefore effectively funding the event, and demanded immediate clarification from the culture minister on how the initiative related to the institute's statutory purposes, and on the basis on which speakers and themes were selected. The minister's response Culture minister Alessandro Giuli said he was "astonished" and had only learnt of the Grafica Pride initiative only through the media on the day the controversy broke, according to news agency Adnkronos. He stated that, regardless of the fact that the event seemed procedurally above reproach, he considered it "inconsistent" with his expectations for the work of the Istituto Centrale per la Grafica, "both scientifically and in terms of cultural promotion". Cited by Adnkronos, Giuli expressed surprise that the Directorate General of Museums, the Head of Department, the minister's chief of staff, "or even the minister" had not been involved in or notified of the initiative, adding that an inquiry was under way. Three members of the institute's board of directors - Angelo Mellone, Paolo Corsini and Gianfranco Ferroni - had separately written to the minister expressing their disagreement with how the institute was being managed, Adnkronos reports. Background The Istituto Centrale per la Grafica had billed the event as part of a broader renewal of the institution under the direction of Fabio De Chirico, following a successful exhibition on the Flemish artist Maarten van Heemskerck which drew more than 7,000 visitors before closing in early June. In its press release for the event, the institute said that Grafica Pride emphasises its desire "to be not only a place of conservation and research, but also a space for reflection and discussion on the issues affecting our time."

A Pride-themed evening organised by a state cultural body at one of Rome's most iconic landmarks has ignited a political controversy, drawing in Italy's right-wing culture minister and a prominent Catholic pressure group. The Istituto Centrale per la Grafica - a public institute under the Italian ministry of culture, housed at Palazzo Poli overlooking the Trevi Fountain - is holding an event entitled Grafica Pride on Friday 19 June.   The initiative - which takes place on the eve of  and is aimed predominantly at people aged under 30 - is dedicated to themes of inclusion, gender identity and LGBTQ+ culture and has been promoted with an image featuring the Trevi Fountain illuminated with rainbow colours. The event includes the presentation of a book titled Musei, genere e queerness (Museums, Gender and Queerness), a talk entitled L'amore che non osa dire il suo nome (The Love That Dare Not Speak Its Name) featuring two queer performers, and a DJ set. Tickets cost €5 for visitors aged under 30 and €10 for those over 30. The Istituto Centrale per la Grafica is a prestigious state-run museum and research centre dedicated to preserving, protecting and promoting graphic art including historic prints and drawings. The conservative Catholic organisation Pro Vita & Famiglia, through its spokesman Jacopo Coghe, condemned the event as an unacceptable use of public funds, stating that such an initiative was what one might expect from a far-left government, not the current centre-right administration. Pro Vita raised pointed questions about the institute's finances: according to the group, the Istituto Centrale per la Grafica receives around €800,000 in direct culture ministry funding, while its own ticketing income for the entire year amounts to just €2,000. Around €88,000 is earmarked for cultural events such as exhibitions and conferences. Pro Vita argued that Italian taxpayers were therefore effectively funding the event, and demanded immediate clarification from the culture minister on how the initiative related to the institute's statutory purposes, and on the basis on which speakers and themes were selected. Culture minister Alessandro Giuli said he was "astonished" and had only learnt of the Grafica Pride initiative only through the media on the day the controversy broke, according to news agency Adnkronos. He stated that, regardless of the fact that the event seemed procedurally above reproach, he considered it "inconsistent" with his expectations for the work of the Istituto Centrale per la Grafica, "both scientifically and in terms of cultural promotion". Cited by Adnkronos, Giuli expressed surprise that the Directorate General of Museums, the Head of Department, the minister's chief of staff, "or even the minister" had not been involved in or notified of the initiative, adding that an inquiry was under way. Three members of the institute's board of directors - Angelo Mellone, Paolo Corsini and Gianfranco Ferroni - had separately written to the minister expressing their disagreement with how the institute was being managed, Adnkronos reports. The Istituto Centrale per la Grafica had billed the event as part of a broader renewal of the institution under the direction of Fabio De Chirico, following a successful exhibition on the Flemish artist Maarten van Heemskerck which drew more than 7,000 visitors before closing in early June. In its press release for the event, the institute said that Grafica Pride emphasises its desire "to be not only a place of conservation and research, but also a space for reflection and discussion on the issues affecting our time."